The present application relates generally to shower assemblies, and more specifically, to shower door assemblies and methods for installing the same.
Generally speaking, a sliding shower door assembly includes one or more door panels in rolling engagement with respective rails of a door header. Each of the door panels are configured to translate or slide along the rails within the header to allow for ingress and egress of a user from, for example, a shower or a bathing enclosure. Typically, sliding shower door assemblies use a guide member located at a bottom of the assembly to help position and/or align the doors in a vertical direction and to help guide the doors in a lateral direction when the doors are translated along the respective rails within the header (e.g., when opening or closing the doors). Many existing guide members are noisy due to frictional engagement between a portion of the doors and the guide member when the doors are moved and/or slid relative to the guide member. Furthermore, the doors may stick, rattle or catch within channels of the guide member, thereby creating an undesirable feel or sound for a user.
In addition, most shower door assemblies include one or more door bumpers which may be located at the ends of the header and/or along the end walls of the shower, such as at a wall jamb. Alternatively, the bumpers may be part of a door panel assembly. The bumpers are configured to provide endpoints for sliding of the doors and to protect the doors by providing a soft, elastic surface for the doors to contact. These conventional bumpers are unsightly and can be positioned incorrectly within the shower door assembly, because the bumpers do not include locating features for positioning the bumpers relative to other components of the shower door assembly.
Many conventional sliding shower door assemblies also include a bracket for mounting a roller or wheel to the door. The roller is configured for rolling engagement with the rail of the header to allow the door panel to slide (i.e., translate) along the rail. The bracket typically includes a flange that extends upward from a top edge of the door and includes a plurality of holes, or an elongated slot, for mounting the roller at different vertical positions, to thereby allow for selective adjustment of the door height relative to the fixed structure (e.g., the shower enclosure base or floor) or to tilt the panel relative to a wall of the bathing or shower enclosure. The flange typically extends a significant distance above the top edge of the door, thereby requiring a large amount of clearance or space within the header to fully enclose the flange. Thus, most shower door headers have a size (e.g., a height) that is dictated by the size of the door bracket flange.
Finally, the installation of most shower door assemblies requires a significant amount of effort by an installer, including, for example, measuring and marking locations for drilling holes, mounting various components (e.g., headers, frame rails, guide members, etc.), aligning various components, and hanging door assemblies.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a shower door assembly having: a guide member that reduces sliding door noise and that improves the translational and/or tactile feel for a user when moving the shower doors; a door bumper that may be easily mounted within the assembly relative to other components and that is aesthetically pleasing; and a door bracket for hanging shower doors that reduces the overall size (e.g., height, clearance, etc.) of the header. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a method for installing a shower door assembly that includes the use of templates and/or locating elements and an installation sequence that simplifies the installation of various components of the shower door assembly. These and other advantageous features will become apparent to those reviewing the present disclosure.